Presbyterians fight church's fossil fuel plan

General Presbyter the Rev. Mike Cole, right, says divestment is a meaningless
protest that does little more than "hurt, humiliate, offend and vilify
people of good faith and moral character who work in the fossil fuel
industry."

General Presbyter the Rev. Mike Cole, right, says divestment is a...

As Houston grapples with possibly the worst oil slump in three decades, area Presbyterian leaders are battling a proposal from their parent denomination - Presbyterian Church USA - to fight global warming by dropping investments in the fossil fuel industry.

With more than 10,000 congregations and 1.76 million members, PCUSA is the nation's fourth-largest mainstream Protestant denomination. Combined, its pension board and foundation hold more than $200 million in fossil fuel stocks and bonds.

Leaders of Houston-based Presbytery of New Covenant, representing 106 Southeast Texas congregations, don't dispute that burning fossil fuels contributes to a worsening global environmental crisis. But, said General Presbyter the Rev. Mike Cole, divestment is a meaningless protest that does little more than "hurt, humiliate, offend and vilify people of good faith and moral character who work in the fossil fuel industry."

"If the Presbyterian church divests its investments in fossil fuels," Cole said, "those shares will be snapped up in seconds. All that will happen is a change in ownership of those shares. It will not have an impact on the climate. It will not impact greenhouse gasses. It is a symbolic gesture that doesn't ask us individually to make sacrifices."

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Joining with church leadership in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, Presbytery of New Covenant will host a symposium on Friday and Saturday to explore "faithful alternatives" to fossil fuel divestment, which could be offered for consideration at the denomination's June 2016 general assembly.

Symposium speakers will include Katharine Hayhoe, director of Texas Tech University's Climate Science Center; Marshall Saunders, founder and president of Citizens' Climate Lobby; and a representative of Conoco-Phillips, who will present the industry viewpoint.

Dropped other investments

Divestment from industries deemed objectionable long has been a policy-shaping tool wielded by American churches and universities.

Already, Presbyterian Church USA has dropped investments in tobacco companies, for-profit prisons, makers of some military weapons and companies that do substantial business in countries with records of human rights violations. In practice, but not by policy, the church avoids financial holdings in the gambling industry and producers of alcohol and handguns.

In June 2013, United Church of Christ became the first major U.S. denomination to loosen financial ties to fossil fuels.

Katie McCloskey, social responsibility director for UCC Funds, which manages investments for client congregations and other church entities, said her agency "doesn't condone divestment as a tactic that changes industries."

More Information

Call to Engagement

Houston's Presbytery of New Covenant and Presbyterian leaders from three other states will sponsor a conference on global warming to consider effective alternatives to divestment from fossil fuel industries.

When: Friday and Saturday

Where: Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive

Cost: $45 for registration and meals

Registration: Advance registration is recommended. Contact the presbytery at cwalker@pbyofnewcovenant or 713-526-2585.

Source: Presbytery of New Covenant

But, she added, "If a large proportion of our clients or potential clients is looking for a divestment option, we're certainly going to keep that in mind."

While retaining investments in fossil fuel companies deemed "best of class," UCC Funds this year dropped investments in major coal and tar sand extraction companies. Additionally, it offered clients an investment option free of stocks in oil, gas and coal exploration and production companies.

In January 2015, the United Methodist Church, with 7.8 million members, the nation's largest mainstream Protestant denomination, cited financial concerns - as distinct from moral - in curtailing investment in some thermal coal companies. "We believe the thermal coal industry presents sufficient financial risk to warrant exclusion of certain companies from our funds," said Kristy Jenkinson, managing director for UMC's Westpath investment arm.

The policy curtails investments in companies that derive half their income from coal mining and utilities who generate three-fourths of their power by burning coal. Coal-burning utilities that derive 10 percent of their energy from renewable sources are exempt.

In July, delegates to the Episcopal Church's 78th general convention called for divesting fossil fuel holdings, refraining from purchasing such stocks in the future and urging individual dioceses and parishes to discuss taking similar action.

Jamie Henn, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Fossil Free said more than 400 institutional investors - almost one-fourth of them faith-based - have dropped fossil fuel holdings since 2012.

The Presbyterian general assembly took up the issue in June 2014 when the Rev. Robert Mark, pastor of Boston's Church of the Covenant, called on delegates to immediately stop investment in fossil fuel companies and liquidate existing stocks within five years. The assembly voted four-to-one to refer the matter to the Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee, with instructions to report back with a recommendation in 2016.

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"My sense is that it could go either way at this point," Mark said. "There obviously are other arguments for addressing issues of climate change without taking money out. ... Since the 1980s, we've been engaging in shareholder actions for caring for God's creation and nothing in terms of change has occurred in their core businesses. It is time for divestment. Will this bankrupt Exxon Mobil? Absolutely not. They have more money than any human company in history. But we see the tide changing."

'Morally warranted'

The Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest who heads the ecumenical environmental group, Green Faith, called divestment "the last resort."

"We've tried everything else," he said. "... The level of harm is undeniable...Faith groups have concluded that divestment is morally warranted. This is a very powerful industry, fully aware of the problems its products and services are causing and they're refusing to be a constructive partner."

Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, coordinator for the Presbyterian Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee, said efforts to negotiate with fossil fuel companies have brought mixed results.

"It varies," he said, citing his committee's efforts to convince a Houston-based oil company to address its own problems with greenhouse gas emissions. "We pushed them for years and years to develop a corporate goal to reduce ... emissions, and they resisted and resisted," he said. "Then, a year and a half ago, they agreed to set a goal. We still meet with them. It takes persistence."

Last week, American Petroleum Institute president Jack Gerard told reporters that a new study showed that, between 2000 and 2014, the oil and gas industry spent $90 million for technologies to capture emissions improve efficiency, reuse excess heat and sequester carbon dioxide.

That figure substantially exceeded sums spent by the automotive sector, electric utilities and agriculture and food processors, he said.

Additionally, he said, the study indicated that the industry spent more than $14.8 billion on alternative energy projects in the 14-year period. In 2014, he said, reduction in carbon dioxide emissions were equivalent to taking 11.8 million cars off the road. "This study," Gerard said, "demonstrates how market-driven, private-sector leadership can achieve public policy goals more quickly and more efficiently than government programs and mandates."

The push for divestment from fossil fuel comes as the industry suffers one of its deepest slumps in 30 years. Since mid-2014, crude oil prices have plummeted by 50 percent. Thousands of industry jobs have been cut in Houston; worldwide, as many as 200,000. The secondary impact on Houston businesses is an open question.

'Change our behavior'

While divestment by religious groups involves relatively small sums of money, Cole worried that the movement is "gaining momentum across the country in various denominations."

"The predominant majority of our group is fully aligned with the belief that climate change is caused by human influence," he said, noting that dissenters had been included on the committee to provide a diversity of opinion. "The vast majority of climate scientists agree change is occurring and something must be done about it," Cole said. "Where we disagree is what methods should be used to address the problem."

Going into the weekend symposium, Cole said his committee believes more emphasis should be placed on use of renewable energy sources and on less-polluting fossil fuels such as natural gas. Additionally, he said, his group believes a carbon tax, featuring a combination of assessments and rebates, could encourage frugality in the use of polluting fuels.

"The end goal," he said, "is to change our behavior, to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. Economists believe the best way to induce people to reduce carbon use is to price it in a way that reflects the total cost to society."